The study of ancient shipbuilding techniques and their development in the ancient Mediterranean has mainly been based upon a technical analysis of the archaeological and historical evidence available, concluding normally in a sort of logical and linear evolution. However, the new perspective given to the research of ancient maritime societies by the growing discipline of maritime archaeology and the study of the most recent archaeological finds leas us to reconsider the development of nautical technology in Antiquity and to understand the importance of the social component in its historical evolution.